Sunday, 29 May 2016

Storing and Organising Fabric

Jumpy title!I've been re-organising my piles and heaps of fabric that have migrated everywhere while I've been so busy on projects with deadlines* that I never seemed to have time to tidy up. Now, everything is organised - for now!* By deadlines, I mean that we were seeing the intended recipient of the project work over the weekend, so I just had to get finished!I wonder how other people store their fabrics. I'm sure a lot of people, like me, fall in love with some 'have to have' fabric, without having a specific idea how it will be used. Most of these do get used eventually. Sometimes I love them so much having used it, that I want to get more - and it's then out of stock world-wide! I also have pieces of fabric that are recycled. A garment can get taken apart for some later use. Probably about half of these get used - but at the outset, I don't know what will fall in which half - will be used or binned eventually.So here's my new storage plan. Some of the see-through bags are much bigger than others, and then they all go in stackable plastic boxes.Box 1:

Felt (mostly squares, but I keep quite small pieces for my finger puppets, as they can be used for eyes, noses, beaks etc).

Flannel. I bought various pieces of lovely soft baby flannel when we had a premature baby in the family. Some got used, but she grew so fast that I still have some waiting for another project.

Knits. Some of these are purchased, some are chopped up from T-shirts or other stretchy garments. There are also a number of pieces of ribbed knit, to make neckline, cuffs, waistbands etc.

Fleece - at the moment there's only one (plain French navy) fabric in this bag! But I've seen some gorgeous fleece fabrics at the store. I might turn my attention to using fleece again in the autumn.

Box 2:

This is my main storage of materials for new projects. At the bottom, there are three bags of pieces. The difference between them is a bit arbitrary, to be honest:

Scraps bag. Some of these are really quite small pieces, especially of a favourite material. Among other things, some of them lend themselves to making appliques.You can make applique letters with a two inch square! But I have to be a bit ruthless, or I would have two rooms full of sewing stuff.

Larger scraps. Mostly these are left over from projects and could be used to make small items, or to add some interest to a garment made out of a plainer fabric. If you've read the blog, you'll recognise some of them from projects

Larger pieces, but where I know there is definitely less than half a metre. Again, most of these are leftovers, although some may be fat quarters that I bought when the girls were tiny enough that I could make a whole project out of a fat quarter. These would lend themselves to making contrasting sleeves or bodices, most would be big enough for a child's sunhat, and some of them are sufficiently even in shape that they could be cut up to make further patchwork squares.

Next, two bags of larger pieces, of about half a metre or more:

Bright polycottons and cotton.

Light / pastel polycottons and cottons.

Some of these are cheapish stuff that would be fine for quilting projects, or to make a reversible garment. Others are better quality. I don't distinguish them in the bags, Everything goes in together, organised only by whether they are pale fabrics or bright ones.

Everything else! Satins, tartan cloth, mock leather, chiffon, velvet, plasticised material (I think this has a name in the US), and half-finished alterations to, or dismantled, adult clothing. These are mostly fabrics and projects that are not likely to get used for children's clothing.

I feel good now it is all tidied away, but I'm started to feel another project coming on. Oh yes - some pyjama trousers for the youngest grandchild to go with the top I already made her - and she needs a sunhat - and once I've made her a sunhat, I'll certainly have to make one for her sister. I also promised them ponchos / sun cover ups. And the new dinosaur fabric I bought the other day - that's begging to be something for summer!